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I often have trouble taking Firestorm seriously, because my natural inclination is to go back to my favorite period, the Blank Slate. The problem with that is it’s unsustainable, because a grim political thriller means Firestorm becomes Captain Atom, and he’s nowhere near as good at being Captain Atom as Captain Atom, in which case he instead eventually turns evil and has to fight Captain Atom (which is funny, because DC always wants Captain Atom to be evil, which doesn’t work, but Firestorm’s basic design works perfectly for a flaming-headed, poofy-sleeved villain, which he only ever was close to becoming in the Blank Slate period. The Firestorm Elemental did not have poofy sleeves and he was barefoot and his bare feet were on fire, which does not an unimpeachable villain design make.)

All this is to say, I take one look at Super Cute Super Powers Firestorm, and I get it. Firestorm is Batman: The Brave and the Bold, not Batman: Every Other Animated Series Since 1992. Firestorm cannot conform to the Dan Didio Universe, because he is Ambush Bug, Blue Devil, JLI, Captain Carrot, and every other DC concept that can only meet the DC Universe if it conforms to the standards of his own series’ tonality. Firestorm is for kids, not sour geeks that want to twist him into a shape that suits adulterated modern comics, or apparently even those of his late Bronze Age contemporaries. I still can’t take Firestorm seriously, but I finally had the epiphany that if I’m taking him seriously, I’m doing it wrong. He turns tanks into packing kernels and fights were-weasels. What was I thinking when I thought he was supposed to be a typical super-hero? From now on, I’ll try to stop taking for granted my inherent superiority to all Firestorm fans, like I was Paula Deen hiding dollar bills throughout the dining room for the kitchen staff to scrounge for.

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The Source for DC Comics' Nuclear Man – Firestorm! You'll find anything and everything Firestorm-related here. We cover things such as: news, comics, merchandise, toys, apparel, cartoons, creator interviews, podcasts, and commentary about the character. This site is maintained by The Irredeemable Shag and is not affiliated with DC Comics in any way.